Turning table for metal coils and the like



Nov. 4, 1969 J. E. CLARKE TURNING TABLE FOR METAL COILS AND THE LIKE Filed July 17, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jesse @JQAJZLW J2 33' I WA Nov. 4, 1969 Filed July 17, 1968 J. E. CLARKE 3,476,267

TURNING TABLE FOR METAL COILS ANI) THE LlKE 2 Sheets-Sheet t Lam/may. gesse United States Patent O M 3,476,267 TURNING TABLE FOR lVLETAL COILS AND THE LIKE Jesse E. Clarke, Hinsdale, Ill., assignor to Autoquip Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 17, 1968, Ser. No. 745,519

Int. Cl. B251 3/00 US. Cl. 214-1 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention Coils of strip steel and the like are transported with the eye, the cylindrical center opening, extending vertically. The principal reason for this is that there is less likelihood of damage to the steel strip and it is supported on the edges of the strip at one end of the eye. When such coils are received by the plant at which they are to be used it is generally necessary to tip the coil 90 so that the eye is horizontal. This then allows the coil to be more easily handled and/or to be put on a mandrel so that the coil may be unrolled for use or processing.

Under conventional practices the apparatus for so tipping the coil will generally be of one or two types. One type employs an L-shaped support mounted on a fixed pivot about which the support is rotated to turn the coil from one position to the other. In the second type the support is mounted on a pair of large circular segments movable in rollers on a base to permit the tipping of the support. In such conventional types of devices the floor space occupied by the apparatus is anywhere from about 150 to 200 percent of the size of the coil being tipped. The apparatus is big and cumbersome and requires substantial power to move the support from one position to the other.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which is simple and eflicient for doing this job, yet which occupies litle more than the size of the floor space required for the coil itself. Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawmgs.

Summary of the invention The present invention relates to a simple and eflicient apparatus for tipping an object, such as a coil of iron plate, 90 so as to lay it on what previously had been an upright side of the object.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention with a coil of strip steel positioned thereon with the eye upwardly;

FIGURE 2 is an end view as seen at line 22 without the coil thereon;

FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 1, except showing the coil partially turned; and

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 with the coil fully tipped.

Description of the specific embodiment Although the following disclosure offered for public dissemination is detailed to ensure adequacy and aid 3,476,267 Patented Nov. 4, 1969 understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improvements. The claims at the end hereof are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose; as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the parts, improvements, or combinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

The illustrated embodiment comprises a base generally 10 on which is pivotally mounted an L-shaped support generally 11. The pivotal mounting is provided by a lever means subsequently described. The exact details of the base and the support are relatively unimportant. In the illustrated embodiment the base 10 is formed of a plurality of angle irons 12 secured together in a box-shaped configuration. Within the box are a pair of transverse angle irons 13. The L-shaped support is formed of a pair of members 14 and 15 connected together at their proximal ends. Overlaying members 14 and 15 are plates 16 and 17 respectively.

The lever means comprises a first pair of levers 20* and a second pair of levers 21. Levers 20 are pivotally connected to the angle irons 13 of the base at 22 and are pivottaly connected to members 14 at 23. Levers 21 are pivotally connected to members 14 at 23. Levers 21 are similarly pivotally connected to the base at 24 and to members 15 to 25.

The actuation of the support can be provided by any of a numerous types of power means, such as screw jacks, rack and pinions, chain and sprockets, cable and shivs, etc. In the illustrated embodiment the power means comprises a pair of single acting fluid cylinders 27 and 28. Cylinder 27 is pivotally attached to one of levers 21 at 29. The piston end of cylinder 27 is affixed to an angle bar 30 pivoted to base angles 13 at 31. Similarly, cylinder 28 is pivotally connected to one of levers 20 at 32 and at the piston end has an angle bar 33 pivotally connected at 34 to one of base angles 13.

FIGURE 1 illustrates the apparatus of the present invention with a coil 36 of steel loaded thereon. The cylindrical opening 37, sometimes referred to as the eye is vertical. This is the position in which the coil is normally shipped and a coil so shipped has been unloaded onto the apparatus of the invention, as by means of an overhead crane, conveyor, etc. From this position hydraulic fluid under pressure would be supplied to cylinder 28 while cylinder 27 would be permitted to exhaust. The force thus applied by cylinder 28 commences pivoting levers 20 upwardly and necessarily levers 21 pivot downwardly simultaneously. FIGURE 3 illustrates an intermediate position at which levers 20 approach the upright position and levers 21 approach the down position. FIG- URE 4 illustrates the position at which the coil 36 has been turned a full so that it is now laying on its side with the eye 37 horizontally. From the FIGURE 4 position the cylinder 27 could be supplied with fluid and the cylinder 28 exhausted to return the coil 36 to the FIGURE 1 position.

An important feature of the invention is that the coil 36 very nearly rotates about its own center of gravity, thus the dot-dash line 38 in FIGURE 3 illustrates approximately the movement of the center of gravity of the coil 36 as the position of the coil is changed from the FIG- URE 1 to the FIGURE 4 position. This has numerous advantageous results. The load is nearly balanced on the support. Because of the relatively minor amount of movement of the coil, comparatively little power is required as compared to conventional devices. A further advantage is that the base 10 need be little larger than the coil itself and the center of gravity remains over this base. This, for example, would permit base 10 to be on a cart or other conveyance so that the coil can be readily moved about the plant as for the purpose of inserting the coil over a mandrel. With a minor repositioning of the lever means it would be possible to employ a single, double acting, hydraulic cylinder rather than two single acting cylinders.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for turning an object, such as a coil of strip steel or the like, from a first position at which one portion is the bottom and a second portion is generally upright to a second position at which the second portion is the bottom and said one portion is generally upright, said apparatus comprising:

a base having two horizontally spaced pivot points;

an L-shaped support for said object, said support having one member defining one side of the L and a second member defining the other side of the L; first lever means pivotally connected to one member and to said base at one of said pivot points; second lever means pivotally connected to the second member and to the base at the other of the pivot points;

said lever means being positioned to permit said support to be moved, with respect to the base, from a position at which said one member is approximately horizontal and said second member extends upwardly from the one member to a second position at which said second member is approximately horizontal and said one member extends upwardly from the second member; and

power means interconnecting the base and the lever means to move said lever means between said. two positions.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pivotal connections of the lever means are positioned so that the first lever means is generally upright when the support is in the second position and the second lever means is generally upright when the support is in the first position.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said pivot points are adjacent the ends of the base respectively and the pivotal connections of the lever means to the members is closer to the proximal ends of the members than to the distal ends thereof.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said power means includes a first fluid cylinder connected to one of the lever means and to the base adjacent the pivot point of the other lever means and a second fluid cylinder connected to the other lever means and to the base adpacent the pivot point of the one lever means.

5. A apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said pivot points are adjacent the ends of the base respectively and the pivotal connections of the lever means to the members is closer to the proximal ends of the members than to the distal ends thereof.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 1,035,110 7/1966 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner FRANK E. WERNER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 214- 

